Wireless communications systems commonly include a base station serving a number of wireless devices. The base station is connected through a backhaul link and a gateway to a network or the Internet. Backhaul links may be constructed with any of a variety of technologies, such as T1 and digital signal 3 (DS3), microwave, fiber, and hybrid technologies. These backhaul links may be expensive to build and operate, so many base stations are equipped with a single backhaul link to a gateway, and no backup link in case of backhaul link failure. Some critical base stations may be provided with a second backhaul link, however, this is not the case for most typical base stations.
When a backhaul link fails, the base station, and thus any wireless devices using the base station, are unable to communicate with the network. Some devices may be capable of communicating with more than one base station based on their location and the ranges of the various base stations. These devices may switch over from the base station with a failed backhaul link to a base station with an operative backhaul link, however other devices using the base station with the failed backhaul link do not have such an option.